GET /api/v0.1/hansard/entries/386420/?format=api
HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 386420,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/386420/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 120,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "we come from. County Assembly Members are not very well equipped and they really need to do more capacity building. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to security, I want to talk about the Garissa insecurity problem. In the last ten years, we were fairly in good shape in the north east as far as security was concerned. However, one and half years down the road, security has been a major challenge, particularly in Garissa. The lapse is mainly because security officers are not taking their work seriously. If the uniformed officers, the regular police and the administration police officers are not effective, we should invest more in intelligence. Why recruit more police officers if they cannot discharge their duties? We should invest more in intelligence rather than employing more police officers as indicated in the document. It is true we need them, but I think we need to change tact and approach. Regarding laptops which many people have talked about, I think they are important. But at what stage are they important? We have an underpaid teacher, a hungry student, under-staffed schools and so on. What are our priorities? Must it be implemented in year one as envisaged in this document? We have lost a lot in the past because of misplaced priorities. I urge technocrats not to mislead the leadership of this country. There are development experts in this country. We have no shortage at all. The Senator for Busia said that we are very good in crafting documents. Yes, we have no shortage of skills and expertise. Therefore, they must advise the Government on its priorities. They should advise President Uhuru Kenyatta that laptops are not appropriate this year. Why would we want to spend Kshs70 billion on laptops when we have no classrooms? Let us divert that money to the construction of classrooms and recruitment of more teachers. Let us pay teachers better salaries to motivate them. Let us invest more in food security so that children do not go hungry to schools. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, food security is something I really wanted to speak about. The mindset of Kenyans or the policy makers or our own leaders is such that they believe that it is only through farming that we can be food secure. Why did they ignore the livestock sector? Botswana is a tiny country that relies almost entirely on livestock to fund its budget. They have a vibrant economy. There are thousands of heads of livestock that are lost every dry spell. This document is short of what we are saying. I would like to tell President Uhuru Kenyatta that his policy statements were very good, but he ignored a very crucial component; that is the livestock sector. Some of us would not want to go back without telling our people that we have raised our concerns. I have also looked at the bit on creation of dams and pans with regard to mitigation in droughts and floods. It is more or less tilted towards flood mitigation much more than droughts. Droughts call for much more than just creating dams and pans. We can retain water, but what else have we done? What about the bit on early warning systems, the range lands management, livestock health and so on? It means you will have ignored crucial components that will help in mitigating droughts. I do not think we are in short supply of the required personnel and skills, but it is lack of commitment. Droughts and floods are emergencies. There can be no meaningful development if you do not The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}